


The Last Place I Can Stand

by Ionaonie



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Allison Argent & Lydia Martin Friendship, Altered Mental States, Alternate Universe - Firefly Verse, Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Derek Has Issues, Erica Reyes & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, F/M, Families of Choice, Hale Family Feels, Implied/Referenced Torture, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, M/M, Mental Instability, Minor Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Minor Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Panic Attacks, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 20:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4318707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ionaonie/pseuds/Ionaonie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek Hale and his sister, Laura, have lost everything. </p>
<p>The last refuge they have is their ship, the <i>Fire Wolf</i>, and soon even that isn't safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Place I Can Stand

**Author's Note:**

> This started ages ago, back when I was doing a rewatch of _Firefly_ and two versions of a Teen Wolf fusion fell into my brain. I ended up going with this one (obviously).
> 
> Thank you to both Arineat and Lunaswonderousworld for reading it through and assuring me it doesn't suck. Any and all remaining mistakes are mine. 
> 
> If you think this is missing any tags, let me know.

With a deep breath, Derek stepped off _Fire Wolf_ and growled to himself. The air was thick with dirt, churned up from all the ships landing and taking off and it was already burning the back of his throat, making his eyes itch. The space dock was crowded with people and the hum of life was already deeply annoying. 

Laura checked him with her shoulder and grinned as she adjusted her hip holster. ‘Cheer up, baby brother. It could be worse. I could be asking you to talk to people. All I need today is your intimidating scowl.’

He grunted as she moved away to talk to Boyd about what they _needed_ to keep _Fire Wolf_ flying versus what they could _afford_ to keep her flying.

‘Don’t worry, boss man,’ Erica said, hand clamping down on his shoulder as she came to a stop next to him. There was a handkerchief tying her hair back out of her face and there was a small smile on her face as she looked out into the sea of people. ‘You’ll go and have a little chat with Finstock and then we’ll be on our way.’

Derek plucked her hand off his shoulder and dropped it unceremoniously. ‘No more than three people,’ he told her. ‘And make sure they can pay.’

‘Not much point having passengers if they can’t pay,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘Now go on, Captain’s getting impatient.’ She waved him away and turned to stare at the people walking past. 

Derek shook his head, still unsure as to how they ever managed to get passengers on board when they were first confronted with Erica’s penetrative gaze. But really, Derek wasn’t complaining as long as he didn’t need to talk to them more than absolutely necessary.

‘Derek, come on,’ Laura yelled, gesturing in the direction of the marketplace and Finstock’s den of inequity. ‘We need to get going.’

‘Told you she was getting antsy,’ Erica said smugly.

‘Shut up.’

\------ 

The second Derek saw Greenberg’s smarmy face, he knew things weren't going to go well for them. 

Judging from the way Laura squared her shoulders, she was thinking the same thing. 

‘Finstock’s been looking forward to you two showing up. Always good for a laugh.’

Derek took a couple of steps towards Greenberg, baring his teeth. Greenberg squeaked and shuffled back several steps, fumbling for his gun. ‘You keep away from me.’

Laura snorted. ‘You know that if Derek wanted to hurt you, you’d be on the floor bleeding already.’ 

‘You won’t be laughing soon,’ Greenberg promised. ‘You’ll see.’

Derek swapped a worried glance with Laura and braced himself for whatever came next. 

They followed Greenberg through to Finstock’s office, two more goons standing guard outside the door. 

Greenberg scurried behind the desk, making Finstock look up from the woman he was inspecting. 

‘What the hell did you two do to him this time?’ he demanded. Before either of them could answer, Finstock held up his hand and shook his head. ‘I really don’t care. Just stand there like good little children and let me finish off here.’ He turned back to the woman and peering into her mouth. ‘She’ll do,’ he said with a nod. ‘But not those two.’

A big bruiser who was missing most of his teeth - making Derek think that, despite appearances, he wasn’t all that good at brawling - grabbed the woman Finstock had given the nod to and led her out the room. A couple of other guards took the rejects to who knew where. 

Derek gritted his teeth. He hated that they dealt with someone who regularly operated in slaver circles. It grated that they didn’t have many contacts on Persephone and if they wanted to be paid, they had to deal with Finstock. He’d only mentioned it to Laura once, right back after their second job. The bleak look on her face had stopped him from saying anything again. 

‘You’re late,’ Finstock said, stepping behind his desk and shooing Greenberg away. 

‘You know we aren’t,’ Laura said. ‘If anything, we’re early. So what’s got you nervous?’ 

‘Good salvage?’

Finstock _never_ asked how their jobs went; the less he knew the better. That he was asking now was a red flag and Derek casually checked where all of Finstock’s people were, just in case he needed to get Laura out of there quickly. 

‘It was,’ Laura said cautiously. 

‘But can you be absolutely sure?’ 

‘I was until you asked me that.’ 

‘Were you really?’ 

‘Why don’t you say what you want to say and be done with it?’ Laura snapped. 

‘You’re later than I would have liked.’

‘Finstock,’ Laura growled. ‘Stop playing games.’ 

‘If you’d been earlier you might have missed the bulletin about a firefly pulling an illegal salvage.’ 

‘There are always bulletins,’ Laura pointed out. ‘What’s so special about this one?’ 

Finstock pointed to a line about halfway down. ‘Right there, where it talks about how the stolen protein has the Alliance stamp.’ 

Derek bit back his groan. They were humped. No way they’d be able to sell it when it was so traceable. 

Laura gritted her teeth and squared her shoulders. ‘You chose that salvage and that hasn’t bothered you in the past.’

‘You haven’t been caught in the past.’

‘Finstock, you hired us for a job. We did the job. You didn’t tell us there were special conditions. We just want to get paid.’ 

‘What is it with you Hales?’ 

Derek _really_ hated that Finstock knew who they were. It made them vulnerable and he knew it and constantly used it to his advantage. 

‘You’re just the final remnants of a well-to-do family from the Outer planets and you walk around with all these delusions of grandeur. I am a businessman, and you’d do well to remember that.’ 

Derek wanted to tell him that he was a small-minded parasite, feeding off the misery of others and that Derek would love to see him behind bars, where he belonged. Laura must have sensed some of that because she stood on his foot. Hard. 

‘I just want to get paid, Finstock. What’s more business than that?’ 

‘You should probably go now,’ Finstock said, leaning back in his chair. ‘Before the Alliance starts looking for you. I do know how much you two like flying under the radar. It strikes me that it wouldn’t take them that long to find you.’ He cocked his head. ‘I just have that feeling.’ 

Laura glared at him for a long moment, and Finstock’s guards started to shift nervously. With a snort of derision, Laura turned on her heel. ‘Come on, Derek. Let’s get out of here.’

Derek backed out slowly, keeping an eye on everyone. It wouldn’t do to get shot in the back by lowlife like Finstock’s crew. 

‘One day,’ Laura seethed, once they were back in the sun, ‘I’m going to punch the smug out of him so hard that he’ll go fall into the middle of the Independence War.’ 

‘What are we going to do?’ Derek asked. 

‘You know what we’re going to do.’ 

‘Laura -’

She spun around and shoved a finger in his face, making Derek stumble back a few steps, if he didn’t want her nail in his eye. Which he didn’t. ‘We need payment to keep _Fire Wolf_ flying. Without it, we’re dead in the water. So we’re doing this.’ 

Derek nodded. ‘You’re the captain.’ 

‘When we get back to the ship I want her ready to fly as soon as possible. I don’t trust Finstock not to report us to the Alliance.’ 

——

Laura was storming across the dock, Derek making sure to keep a few steps behind her just in case she decided to turn her wrath on him again. People scrambled to get out of her way, making Derek wonder why people insisted on calling him the scary one. Like this, Laura was terrifying.

Erica was relaxing in a chair in front of _Fire Wolf_ , twirling a parasol. Although she was tracking everyone who walked past, she wasn’t accosting any of them, so Derek guessed they already had their passengers on board.

Spotting them approach, Erica grinned and gave her parasol an extra twirl. Where the fuck she even get a parasol, Derek had no clue, but he knew better than to ask. Erica was nearly as scary as Laura.

‘How did it go?’ Erica asked.

Laura stormed past, dark scowl firmly in place. No-one followed her.

As pissed off as he was, Derek hung back, knowing from experience that Erica would keep asking until she got an answer. He really didn’t need the hassle of Laura and Erica at each other’s throats for the next few days.

He rubbed at his eyes. ‘Clusterfuck.’

‘Why?’

‘Protein we salvaged was stamped by the Alliance.’

Erica’s eyes widened. ‘Well, fuck.’

Derek stared out into the sea of nameless people. ‘Yeah.’

‘So what’s the plan?’

‘Outer rim.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Where else can we get rid of it?’ he snapped.

‘Fuck.’

Nobody chose to go to the outer rim - the planets there poor, underfunded and partial to diseases that the core planets had eliminated years ago - unless they were desperate and out of choices. But then, they were most definitely desperate and out of choices. It was the only reason Laura would contemplate going back out there and why she was so angry.

‘So, how many passengers we got?’ he asked, more to get his mind off where they were going than actually caring.

‘Three.’

Derek raised an eyebrow. ‘Since when do you follow orders?’

Erica pouted. ‘I didn’t have time to find more.’

‘Must be losing your touch,’ he said kicking the chair out from under her as he passed. He offered her a toothy grin as she hit the ground and squawked in surprise.

‘Asshole,’ she yelled. Standing up, she dragged the chair behind her, stalking past Derek, her head held high.

Derek smirked to himself as Erica stamped up the stairs towards the cockpit. Winding up Erica was one of the few things he truly enjoyed in life.

He was still smirking slightly to himself as he made his way further into the belly of _Fire Wolf_ when someone came barrelling around a couple of strange crates that hadn’t been there when he’d left and crashed into him. Derek stumbled back a few steps, a hand going out automatically to steady whatever idiot thought running around a working cargo bay was a good idea. ‘Are you a complete moron?’ he growled.

‘Me?’ spluttered the boy, pushing Derek away. He had dark hair, wide brown eyes and an earnest attitude that was already grating on Derek’s nerves. ‘I’m not the one creeping around.’

‘How the hell can I be creeping around my own ship?’

‘Your ship?’ The boy blinked. ‘ _You’re_ the captain?’

‘No.’

The boy cocked his head. ‘If you’re not the captain how can this be your ship?’

‘We co-own it.’

‘Oh.’

‘What are you doing down here? Didn’t Erica tell you that you have to remain in your quarters until we take off?’

‘Uh, yeah. She did. We.’ His eyes widened and darted from side to side. ‘Uh, I. I was just checking something before going.’

Derek sighed impatiently. ‘Who else is down here with you?’

‘Uh. No-one.’

Crossing his arms, Derek raised an eyebrow. The boy didn’t get past stammering a few noises before footsteps heralded the arrival of another person. A sour looking blond rounded the corner, scowling at a medipad.

‘Scott, are you sure Lyd…’ He trailed off as he realised Derek was there. ‘Who the hell are you?’

The way he hid the medipad behind his back and angled his body towards the crates was one of the least subtle things that Derek had ever seen. Good thing he didn’t give a damn what was going on.

‘He’s the co-owner,’ Scott told him hastily.

‘This rust bucket needs a co-owner?’

‘Oh my god, Jackson, shut up.’ The boy - Scott, Derek remembered - turned beseeching eyes on Derek. ‘He’s naturally a dick. Ignore him.’

‘What are you both doing down here?’ Derek demanded, ignoring Scott’s begging tone.

‘Nothing,’ Jackson said sullenly. ‘Absolutely nothing.’

‘You’re an even worse liar than your friend,’ Derek told him. ‘Now get up to your quarters before I drag you up there myself.’

‘He’s not my friend,’ Jackson said, sounding mortified.

‘We so aren’t friends,’ Scott protested at the same time.

‘I. Don’t. Care,’ Derek bit out. There was a tiny part of him that wondered why they were travelling together if they couldn’t stand each other. Obviously they weren’t family, so what could possibly have tied them together? Before his curiosity could take hold, Derek pushed it ruthlessly away. He knew better than to be curious about other people. That way led to ruin and the death of people he loved. ‘Just leave.’

Jackson’s face turned obstinate and Derek already knew that he was going to be continually tempted to smash his face into a wall until they could throw him off the ship. Scott, though, showed some sense, grabbing Jackson’s arm and dragging him towards the stairs, evidently aware of Derek watching them until they disappeared out of sight.

Sparing another, curious glance at the crates Scott and Jackson had been hanging around, Derek finished checking the cargo bay for any other loitering passengers.

——

‘Boyd,’ he yelled, taking the stairs two at a time, ‘has the ambassador returned yet?’

‘Ask Erica,’ Boyd hollered back from the depths of the engine room.

From the noises carrying down the corridor, he and Laura had come to an agreement about new parts. _Fire Wolf_ would keep on flying. They’d already been on the ground in Persephone too long for Derek’s liking and he was getting restless.

Ducking his head, Derek stepped into the cockpit.

‘Is Isaac back?’ he asked, collapsing into the co-pilot seat.

‘Two minutes away,’ Erica told him, flipping a couple of switches. ‘Now go away. You’re cluttering up the place and I need to finish my pre-flight checks before Laura rips me a new one.’

Derek rolled his eyes, but pushed himself out of the chair. He had shit to do before takeoff and Laura ripping _him_ a new one.

‘Let me know when he gets here.’

‘Well, duh.’

Without bothering to answer, Derek hit the back of her chair and made his way down past the crew quarters. Laura was probably going to allow herself to pace for another five minutes and Derek wanted everything ready by then. He had to check the passengers were where they should be and everything was stored correctly. Including their illegal salvage. Because the only thing that would make the day just that much worse would be someone stumbling upon it.

——

With Isaac back on board and Persephone being left far behind them, the headache he’d been ignoring all day faded away and Derek could feel the tension leaving his shoulders. He rolled them, trying to loosen the muscles, as Laura introduced the crew and ran through the few rules they had on _Fire Wolf_ [1) Stay in your quarters or the communal areas 2) Don’t touch shit].

Laura was standing in front of their passengers, leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed. She looked confident and talked with an ease Derek almost envied. No-one would guess they were on their way to offload some seriously illegal contraband or that, until fifteen minutes ago, Laura had been in a dark, black mood and hiding out in her quarters.

Derek would prefer to be down in his quarters, staying as far away from strangers as he could get, but, in a fit of pique a couple of years ago, Laura had made it mandatory for all crew to attend. Derek hadn’t yet managed to convince her to change her mind.

So, he was standing behind Laura, arms crossed, looking as intimidating as possible, with the hope it would discourage anyone from approaching him. It usually worked and today was no different. Everyone seemed to be doing their best not to meet his gaze.

Along with Scott and Jackson there was a skittish kid called Matt. If Derek had run into him before they’d taken off, Derek would have thrown him off the ship. He had no clue what had possessed Erica to bring him on board. 

‘So, where are we going again?’ Matt asked.

‘Taking medical supplies to the outer rim,’ Laura said for the fourth time, through gritted teeth.

‘But why?’

‘Because they’re needed.’

Erica was giving the kid a highly unimpressed look that suggested she thought he was deeply stupid. Boyd was as stoic as ever, but Derek was fairly certain he was amused. Isaac looked like he was trying desperately to keep a straight face.

‘I -’

‘The outer rim needs meds,’ Scott said, surprising them all. ‘It’s not unusual for the Alliance to use freelancers to transport them.’

Derek and the rest of the crew all turned to stare at Scott. It actually sounded like the kid knew what he was talking about.

‘What? I’m a doctor.’

A slightly uneasy look crossed Laura’s face, but no-one other than Derek saw it.

‘What kind of meds are you transporting?’ 

‘A lot with long, unpronounceable names,’ Laura said with a nicely calculated self deprecating shrug. 

It made Scott laugh and Laura moved on before anyone else could ask any awkward questions. 

It was a relief, though, when she dismissed them.

‘So,’ Laura said, watching Boyd lead the passengers out towards the cargo bay to pick up anything they needed for the journey, ‘what do you think our chances of this going off without a hitch are?’

Derek snorted.

‘Yeah,’ Laura sighed. ‘Me too.’

——

By the time Derek could bed down many hours later, he was looking forward to getting acquainted with his pillow, when his intercom crackled to life. 

Standing in the middle of his room, pants in his hand, he groaned when Erica’s voice filled the silence. ‘Derek, get up here. We have a problem.’

Nearly falling over as he pulled his pants back on, he hit the intercom. ‘Laura?’

‘On her way up here, too.’ 

Derek shrugged on his shirt as he pulled the ladder down to open the hatch. 

‘What’s going on?’ Derek demanded, seeing Erica and Laura inspecting the ships log. 

‘Someone signalled the closest Alliance ship,’ Erica said. ‘I scrambled it as quickly as I could, but I have no idea how much got out.’ 

His blood felt like ice and all his tiredness vanished. ‘Who?’

‘That’s what we’re trying to find out,’ Laura snapped. ‘Go and find who of our passengers did this.’ 

Derek nodded and when he turned around, Boyd was there, waiting for him. ‘Let’s start in the cargo bay,’ Derek said. 

Boyd nodded and fell into step next to him. 

‘Which one do you think it was?’ Derek asked. 

‘They were all kind of shifty,’ Boyd said. 

Derek huffed in agreement. 

They entered quietly, both of them light on their feet, despite their size. 

Standing by the crates, not even trying to hide, were Scott and Jackson. 

Just as Derek was about to make his way down the stairs to demand answers, Boyd touched his arm and nodded down past the crates. Following where he was looking, Derek felt his eyes widen in surprise when he saw the Matt kid pointing his blaster at Scott and Jackson. 

‘Wasn’t expecting that,’ he murmured to Boyd before indicating that Boyd should get behind Matt. 

With Derek acting as decoy, it took Boyd about three seconds to disarm the idiot. 

Scott and Jackson both heaved joint sighs of relief and Scott slumped against the crate closest to him. 

Before Derek could start demanding answers, Laura came storming down the stairs, Erica hot on her heels and both of them looking equally pissed off. 

‘Agent Daehler, I presume,’ Laura snapped, getting right up in his face. 

He tried to lean away, but Boyd had him in a secure hold. 

‘Why the hell do I have an Alliance agent on my ship?’ she growled. ‘And why were you signaling an Alliance ship?’ 

Agent Daehler - apparently not the kid Derek had taken him for - was far too concerned with keeping an eye on Boyd’s gun to reply.

Scott and Jackson didn’t seem willing to answer either. They stood silent and protective in front of their crates, Scott was twisting his hands and glaring at the floor. Jackson looked like a bizarre combination of determined and about to piss his pants.

‘Is anyone going to tell me?’ Laura looked pointedly at all three of them. ‘Fine!’ She threw her hands in the air. ‘I’ll find out for myself.’ She glanced over at Erica, who immediately darted forward and grabbed Scott and Jackson. Ignoring their protests, Erica pulled them out of the way as Laura moved over to the crate Jackson had been in front of and gestured for Derek to step up to the other one. ‘We’re opening those crates.’

Both Scott and Jackson’s faces fell in horror and they tried to twist out of Erica’s grip. 

‘No! You can’t,’ Scott shouted. He tried to take a couple of steps forward, but was pulled back by Erica. ‘It’s dangerous. It’s way too early. They might die.’ 

‘Those don’t belong to you,’ Jackson snapped. He didn’t try to break Erica’s hold, which was the first intelligent thing he’d done since getting on the ship. ‘You have no right to touch them.’

‘I love that you think I care,’ Laura said. ‘This is my ship. I’m captain and if I think these crates are threatening the safety of my crew, I’ll damn well open them if I want to.’

Derek grunted in agreement.

‘Keep them away from us,’ Laura told Erica. ‘And Boyd, if that one moves -’ She gestured at Daehler who paled significantly. ‘- shoot him.’ She glanced at Derek. ‘Ready?’

He nodded.

Derek didn’t know what he’d been expecting as he pushed the crate open, but it sure as hell hadn’t been a completely naked guy jumping up and falling out, making unintelligible noises. Or an equally naked woman screeching as she stood in the middle of the crate Laura had opened. 

‘Huh.’ Laura cocked her head as she looked from one to the other.

‘Wasn’t expecting that,’ Erica commented blandly.

‘You are all in so much trouble,’ Matt shouted over the noise. ‘They are property of Argent Holdings -‘

Derek felt his entire body go rigid.

Laura reared back as though she’d been slapped and whirled around to glare at the Daehler. ‘What did you say?’

Agent Daehler obviously realised he'd said the wrong thing because he immediately shut up and refused to say anything more. 

Jackson pulled free of Erica, hurrying over to the red-headed woman and gathering her to him, trying to hush her. She went willingly enough into his arms, but, while she stopped screaming, a distressed sound was still coming from her. 

Laura nodded grimly at Erica, and she released Scott. Derek nearly stumbled as Scott shoved past him, still trying to understand what the Argents had to do with anything.

Scott hurried over to the guy who was now huddled against the side of the crate, holding his head and moaning.

Derek stared blankly, watching them but not really hearing anything due to the buzzing in his head. He’d hoped never to hear the name ‘Argent’ ever again. At least not on his own ship.

‘Stiles, Stiles, it’s me, it’s Scott. You’re safe now. I promise.’

The guy – Stiles, although Derek wondered what the hell kind of a name that was – was clinging to Scott’s shirt. Derek found himself staring blankly at the curve of his neck and the moles littered across his back and gave himself a shake.

‘I think you two owe us an explanation,’ Laura said darkly, glaring first at Scott and then at Jackson.

‘Just give me a second,’ Scott snapped. ‘I need to check that their vitals. They should have been kept in stasis for at least another five days.’

‘I said –‘

‘Scott,’ Jackson interrupted. ‘Check Lydia.’

‘Stiles -’

‘Is fine,’ Jackson snapped. ‘I can’t get Lydia to quiet down.’

Scott turned to glare at Jackson. ‘Give me a minute.’

‘Uh, captain,’ Erica said, sounding unsure, ‘what –‘

‘You and Boyd take Agent Daehler to the empty storage cell and lock him in. I’ll have a few questions for him shortly.’

‘You can’t lock me away,’ Daehler said. ‘I’m an Alliance agent.’

Boyd snorted. ‘You’re a pretty terrible one.’

‘Just be glad we’re putting you in a cell and not in the airlock,’ Erica told him sweetly. As she walked past Derek, she briefly rested her hand on his arm, giving it a squeeze.

He tried to smile, but judging by her grimace, it wasn’t all that successful.

A pathetic whimper pulled his attention back to what was going on in front of him. Scott was checking Lydia over but Stiles was feebly trying to reach out towards Scott and Scott kept shooting him concerned looks.

‘We should move to the mess,’ Laura said. She was standing with her hands on her hips, her forehead creased and she was biting her lip. Something she only did when she was freaked out, but didn’t want others to realise.

‘I assume you have a medical bay,’ Scott said.

‘Yeah.’ Laura glanced up and following her gaze, Derek realised that Isaac was watching, obviously pulled from his shuttle by all the noise. ‘Isaac will show you.’

Scott nodded grimly. ‘I’ll get them sedated and then I’ll come and explain this to you.’

Laura glanced between Scott and Jackson. ‘Both of you.’

‘Someone has to stay with them,’ Scott told her. ‘So unless you want to do this in the medical bay, Jackson stays with them.’

‘Fine,’ Laura agreed. ‘But don’t be long.’

There was a pause and then Scott scowled. ‘Could you all leave so Stiles and Lydia can at least walk there without everyone staring at them butt naked?’

‘Oh, I’m sorry we don’t have any blankets at hand,’ Laura snapped. ‘They’re still in the wash after the last couple of stowaways in crates that we had.’ Without waiting for a reply, she spun on her heel and marched over to the stairs.

With a final look at Stiles, Derek followed her.

‘Argents’,’ she said once they were alone.

Derek grunted.

‘You okay?’

‘Are you?’ Derek countered.

Laura barked out a bitter laugh. ‘No.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Do you think this has anything to do with –‘

Derek shrugged. ‘Maybe. I guess there’s only one way to find out.’

‘What do you think we’re going to hear?’

‘After how today has gone, I’m not even going to try and guess.’

‘Probably a wise choice, baby brother.’

What they heard was more or less exactly what Derek had been expecting. Highly intelligent loved ones taken away for an exceptional education courtesy of Argent Holdings, only never to be heard of again. It was a familiar story to both him and Laura. 

‘We had a plan,’ Scott said earnestly. ‘For when we got to our destination. Jackson had it all sorted. But I think that’s all been burned now.’

‘I’d say so,’ Erica agreed. ‘Now that the Alliance knows, they’ll be searching for us and tightening up security everywhere.’

Laura nodded. ‘That they will.’

‘I don’t know what we’re going to do now,’ Scott admitted, looking lost. ‘We can’t let the Argent’s get their hands back on Lydia or Stiles. Their brains are already so scrambled, I can’t imagine how much worse they could get.’ He turned beseeching eyes on Laura and Derek groaned to himself. Laura had always had a soft spot for lost puppies. ‘I know we shouldn’t ask, that it’s too much -’

Derek knew they were going to run before Laura even gave the order. He wanted to be pissed with her. All he wanted to do was hide away from the world and stay angry. But then the idea of sticking it to the Argent’s, of helping people the way no-one had helped their parents, was too tempting. 

‘This is going to end badly,’ Derek said later, when they were alone outside Laura’s quarters. ‘We’ve been staying away from the Argents for a reason.’

‘I know, Derek. I just. It made me think of -’ She trailed off and chewed on her thumb. 

Derek stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. ‘I get it, Laura.’

‘I know you probably don’t agree -’

‘I’ll stand with any decision you make, you know that.’

‘So we help those kids stay away from the Argents.’

‘Okay.’ 

Getting back to his quarters, Derek rested his arms against the ladder, needing a moment to collect himself before climbing down into his room. They were on the run from the Alliance, and, worse, the Argents. It was exactly where he and Laura hadn’t wanted to be. And yet, here they were.

On the run from the Argents and heading back out to the seedier parts of the outer rim for the first time in years. 

_____

‘Harris,’ Derek said flatly as he stepped through the door into the cockpit. ‘Your idea is to go to Harris?’ 

Laura didn’t even glance at him, staring at the communication deck, obviously waiting for a response from Harris. ‘He’s desperate enough to buy the protein and we need the money.’

‘We don’t need _his_ money. He tried to kill you last time.’ 

‘That was business,’ Laura said, waving off his concern. 

At least Erica and Boyd looked at concerned as he felt. Not that either of them were getting involved. Derek didn’t blame them. No-one wanted to get in the middle of a fight between Hale siblings. 

‘Shooting at you isn’t business,’ he growled. 

‘Look.’ Laura stood. ‘We’ve already been through the list. Everyone else is either dead, in jail, looking to kill us, or otherwise engaged.’

‘When we talked, Harris wasn’t on the list.’ Laura didn’t look at him and Derek resisted the urge to punch the wall. It would only hurt his hand. ‘He was on the list, wasn’t he?’

Before Laura could speak, the radio crackled to life and Harris’ thin, pointy face appeared on the monitor. 

‘Hale, I hear you’re looking to unload some protein.’

Laura nodded. ‘We are.’

‘What price are you looking at?’ 

Laura told him what they were looking for and Harris raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s lower than I was expecting.’ 

‘It’s marked by the Alliance, but I doubt you’ll be caring about that.’ 

Harris started at them for a moment, and then nodded. ‘Sounds fair. We’ll send over the coordinates of where to meet.’ 

Without waiting for confirmation, Harris signed off. 

‘Well shit,’ Laura huffed. ‘I do believe he’s looking to try and kill me again.’ 

‘Definitely,’ Erica agreed.

‘If he wasn’t, he’d have haggled some,’ Boyd said. 

Derek made a derisive noise from where he was leaning against the wall.

‘Relax, bro. I have a plan.’

Derek wasn’t the only one who groaned at that.  
_____

Derek was outside the medical bay with Erica, double checking some wiring now that the room was in use, when the radio crackled to life. 

Scott was sorting through equipment, glancing at both Stiles and Lydia occasionally. Stiles appeared to be asleep on one of the beds, although he was whimpering in his sleep. Lydia was staring listlessly at nothing and Jackson was stroking her hair. 

‘We have reavers approaching.’ Laura’s voice was grim. 

Erica made a noise low in her throat and Derek squeezed her shoulder. 

‘Reavers don’t exist,’ Jackson scoffed. 

‘Be sure to tell them that if they board us,’ Derek snapped. 

‘I thought they were just a myth,’ Scott said. ‘To scare kids to go to sleep.’ 

Erica snorted. ‘You wish. If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing – and if we're very, very lucky, they'll do it in that order.’

Both Scott and Jackson paled. 

‘What do we do?’ Scott asked. 

‘Hope they don’t take the ship,’ Derek said. 

‘That’s your plan?’ Jackson demanded. 

‘Where reavers are concerned, there are no plans. You just hope they aren’t in the mood when they see you,’ Erica said. 

Jackson spluttered. ‘Are you fucking serious? We could die.’ Watching Jackson work himself into a lather was entertaining and Derek swapped an amused glance with Erica.

‘I thought you didn’t believe in reavers,’ Derek said. 

‘Guys, this isn’t funny,’ Scott protested, even as he shook his head at Jackson. ‘Do you really not have a plan?’

Derek unholstered his gun and shrugged. 

‘We shoot them?’

‘No, idiot,’ Erica said. ‘You make sure you always have a bullet for yourself.’

‘A bullet… oh, fuck.’

‘Yeah. So, really, hope they decide they aren’t hungry.’

‘Well, that’s suitably disturbing.’

Erica smirked. ‘If you think that’s disturbing, you aren’t going to last very long out here.’

‘How long does it usually take for them to pass?’

‘I don’t know,’ Erica said. ‘It differs each time.’ She looked at Derek.

‘Sometimes they change their mind,’ he said. ‘And if they do, we’re fucked. But give it ten minutes and we should be fine.’

‘Ten minutes,’ Jackson repeated, weakly. 

Derek wanted to run up to Laura. If the reavers did decide to board then he’d never get to the cockpit in time. But he couldn’t leave Erica and if Jackson or Scott actually panicked they could all end up dead. 

Eventually Laura came back on the radio, relief obvious. ‘All clear. We’re good.’

_____

‘Told you this was a terrible plan,’ Derek grumbled as he swung up onto the horse. 

Harris was groaning on the ground, his men either dead or unconscious around him. They were leaving the protein with him and taking the money Harris had dangled in front of them, hoping it would make them stupid. 

‘You totally called it,’ Laura agreed cheerfully, gathering the reins of her horse. ‘But it all worked out, thanks to Boyd’s sharpshooting and your reflexes. So now we have to get back before reavers eat our ship.’

‘Fucking reavers,’ Derek muttered as he kicked the horse, anxious to get back to the _Fire Wolf_. 

They got back to the ship in double time, sliding off the horses and marching into the open cargo bay doors.

Derek had no idea what had been happening while they’d been gone, but Matt was using Lydia as a body shield, Jackson pleading with him to let her go. Scott and Stiles were to one side, Stiles struggling against Scott’s hold. 

As Daehler started yelling at them to stand still, Laura unholstered her gun and shot Daehler right between the eyes. Jackson yelped, but jumped forward to grab Lydia and pull her to him. 

Everyone else stared at Daehler’s body as Laura stomped past. ‘Get that trash off my ship,’ she growled to Derek and Boyd. 

They rushed to comply and by the time they jumped clear of the doors closing, Erica already had them in the air. 

‘Get to the engine room,’ Derek told Boyd.

He was about to run after Laura when Stiles managed to break away from Scott, knocking him over, and careened into Derek, making him stumble. By the time he’d righted himself, Stiles had already disappeared. 

‘Where did he go?’ Derek demanded of Scott, who was staring, open-mouthed, at the stairs. 

‘I’m not sure,’ Scott said, sounding dazed. ‘By the time I stood up he’d gone. I’ve got to find him.’ 

Derek grabbed him before he could stumble away. ‘You need to get back to your quarters. Erica’s going to do something crazy to get us away from the reavers,’ he said, starting up the stairs.

‘But Stiles -’

‘Will be fine,’ Derek called over his shoulder. ‘Get to your quarters.’ He ran to the cockpit, not interested in whether Scott took his advice or not. ‘Where are they?’

Erica didn’t even bother to acknowledge him.

Laura glanced at him, her worry palpable and pointed at the monitor. ‘Right behind us.’

‘Shit.’

‘Relax, guys,’ Erica said, sounding utterly calm. ‘I have a plan.’

\----

‘I can’t believe you did a Crazy Ivan,’ Laura said. ‘That was awesome.’

‘You can’t?’ Derek asked, his heart still trying to beat out of his chest. They shouldn’t be alive, but thanks to Erica’s crazy flying skills, they were. ‘She’s insane.’

Erica beamed up at him. 

Derek patted her shoulder. ‘That wasn’t a compliment.’ 

‘Of course it was,’ Erica told him. 

Boyd appeared in the doorway, eyes fixed on Erica. ‘Captain, if it’s all the same with you, I think I need to steal my girlfriend away for a while.’ 

Erica spun around on the chair, eyes lighting up. ‘Are you going to sex me up, baby? Did my flying make you hot?’ 

‘Oh my god, go,’ Laura said, shooing them both away. ‘I don’t need to be thinking about that.’ 

Erica cackled as she jumped up and pressed a quick kiss to Laura’s cheek before grabbing Boyd’s hand and practically dragging him off to their quarters. 

Derek bumped Laura’s shoulder. ‘You okay at the helm?’

‘Yeah, but where are you going?’

Derek sighed. ‘Stiles ran off while the reavers chased us. I want to make sure he’s not about to break anything and bring us to a grinding halt.’

‘Find him and deliver him back to McCall.’

Derek nodded. ‘That’s the plan.’

\-----

Derek walked down past the crew quarters, through the mess and into the belly of the ship. With Scott already searching for Stiles, Derek was wondering what luck he could possibly have when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Halting in the middle of the corridor he turned slowly, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the shadows. When they did he saw Stiles upside down, hanging from some of the piping, unblinking eyes watching Derek. He and Laura really needed to get better lighting. 

‘Are you going to get down from there?’ 

Stiles cocked his head, but didn’t say anything or move. 

‘Should I go and get Scott?’ 

Slowly, Stiles shook his head.

Derek leaned back against the cool of the wall and crossed his arms, trying to look more nonchalant than he felt. There was something about the way Stiles watched him that made Derek feel uncomfortable. It were as though Stiles was assessing him, sizing him up and seeing all the defences Derek had erected around himself and working out how to get past them. He didn’t like it. No-one deserved to be exposed to what was going on in his head. 

‘Does that mean you’re going to get down?’

Between one blink and the next Stiles was dropping to the floor. He stepped in close to Derek, who was distracted by the realisation that they were more or less the same height. Then he lifted a hand and pressed his thumb to the bridge of Derek’s nose. ‘Scott?’ 

Derek stepped carefully past Stiles and hit the intercom. ‘Scott, I found Stiles. Meet us at your quarters.’

He didn’t bother to wait for a reply, having no idea if Scott was near an intercom. Without waiting to see if Stiles followed, he walked towards the guest quarters. Stiles kept pace, but he kept leaving Derek’s side to go and look at things that caught his attention, fingers ghosting all over the ship. 

When they finally got to Scott’s quarters, he was there, waiting and his relief was obvious. 

Before Scott could start babbling, Derek said, ‘Don’t let him touch anything,’ well aware of the hypocrisy after letting Stiles do exactly that.

Stiles snorted as Derek turned around and walked away. 

\---

‘Did you find Stiles?’ Laura asked once he collapsed into the co-pilot’s chair. 

Derek grunted. His entire body ached and he just wanted to sleep for a few hours. ‘That kid is going to be more trouble than he’s worth.’

‘Maybe,’ Laura said. ‘But something tells me Lydia is going to be the biggest problem in the long run.’

Derek raised a skeptical eyebrow. ‘Lydia?’

‘Don’t ask me why. It’s just a feeling I have.’

‘I hope you’re wrong.’

‘Me too.’

Derek kicked his feet up onto the console, ignoring Laura’s pointed glare. ‘What do you think our chances are of getting lost in the outer rim and the Argents never catching up with us?’

Laura snorted. ‘Non-fucking-existent.’

Derek sighed. ‘Yeah. That’s what I thought too.’

**Author's Note:**

> The line about the reavers was lifted directly from the pilot episode, but you knew that :-)
> 
> I have this whole thing planned, but not a huge amount of it written past cpt 2, but I totally get it done and finished. I just don't know how long it'll take. Exactly. 
> 
> I'm on Tumblr at ionaonie.tumblr.com


End file.
